The pallet store can be a pallet storage system for workpieces on pallets such as Euro-pallets, machine pallets, tool containers, grid crates or similar. The pallet store can in this respect comprise a racking system that can be expanded by modules and at least one floor rail or floor guide rail that can be expanded by modules and at least one storage and retrieval vehicle in accordance with the present disclosure that can travel on the floor rail. The pallet storage system can be protected from being accessed by a machine operator or by other persons by means of safety fencing, whereby a corresponding safety aspect can be implemented.
Storage and retrieval vehicles known from the prior art for pallet storage systems typically do not allow servicing, that is loading or unloading, stacks or machine tools by means of the storage and retrieval vehicle at all sides of the storage and retrieval vehicle and thus making possible an all-round arrangement of loading stations or machine tools.
Against this background, it is the object of the present disclosure to provide an apparatus that offers the possibility of carrying out an individual loading of the loading rack or of the racking system as well as a machine loading or a loading of machine tools or a loading of an automation solution such that an all-round loading of the corresponding components is possible, in particular from the right and from the left or at at least two sides of the storage and retrieval vehicle and in particular in direct proximity with the storage and retrieval vehicle as well as at transverse sides of floor rails of corresponding pallet storage systems. A storage and retrieval vehicle should furthermore be provided that enables a less expensive configuration of the total pallet storage system on the basis of a simple oil management.
This object is achieved in accordance with the present disclosure by a storage and retrieval vehicle having at least one racking system and having at least one floor rail for moving the storage retrieval vehicle, wherein the storage and retrieval vehicle comprises at least one linear guide, in particular a telescopic linear guide, outwardly coupled via at least one vertical guide to a base body of the storage and retrieval vehicle, and wherein the base body is rotatably arranged, in particular by 360°, about the vertical axis.
The linear guide can in this respect comprise one or more telescopic cylinders, with the term telescopic not having to be understood as restrictive. A design as a rigid chain or as another mechanism that enables a telescopic function is also conceivable. The feature of the base body relates to a component of the storage and retrieval vehicle that can have the greatest vertical extent of the storage and retrieval vehicle and can, for example, be designed in column form. A vertical guide is provided at the base body for the moving of the linear guide in a vertical direction or along the base body. Differing from the above-named 360°, the rotation range of the base body can also be more or less than 360°. In the present case, the vertical axis means an axis that is arranged perpendicular to the subsurface of the storage and retrieval vehicle, with deviations from the perpendicular likewise being conceivable.
It is conceivable in an embodiment in this respect that the storage and retrieval vehicle comprises exactly one outwardly disposed linear guide or at least two outwardly disposed linear guides and/or exactly one carriage for receiving, removing and/or holding transported products or at least two carriages for receiving, removing and/or holding transported products.
The storage and retrieval vehicle serves the handling of the products or transported products in the racking system or in machine tools or other machines or loading stations correspondingly arranged along the floor rail. At least one carriage for receiving, removing and/or holding transported products can be provided at the linear guide for this purpose. The storage and retrieval vehicle can be an automatic dynamic robot, in particular in the form of the named storage and retrieval vehicle that is in particular movable in parallel with the loading stations. The loading stations can be the aforesaid racks, machine tools or special automation solutions that are arranged on or at the floor rail.
It is conceivable that the robot or the storage and retrieval vehicle is configured as a simple storage and retrieval vehicle having at least one outwardly disposed linear guide. This brings about the advantage that a very space-saving variant can be provided that in this respect ensures an ideal loading and unloading. It is alternatively conceivable that the robot is configured as a double storage and retrieval vehicle having at least two outwardly disposed telescopic linear guides. This provides the advantage that a fast pallet change can be implemented with a small construction size change. In addition, the storage and retrieval vehicle has a large range thanks to the outwardly disposed telescopic linear guide. Sufficient space for a machine operator can thereby be kept free between, for example, a machine tool loaded by the pallet storage system and the pallet storage system itself. It is thus possible to carry out maintenance, etc. on a malfunction arising, for example, on the conversion of a machine tool during the operation of the pallet storage system without stopping the entire system. The personnel required for this purpose can use the sufficient space between the machine and the pallet storage system for a required access.
It is conceivable in an embodiment that two outwardly disposed linear guides are in particular arranged angled by 90° with respect to one another and/or that two carriages for receiving, removing and/or holding transported products are in particular angled by 90° with respect to one another. The carriages can in this respect be arranged movably at in particular each linear guide. A corresponding angled arrangement in this respect facilitates a fast pallet change in which one pallet is first removed from the racking system by the first linear guide or by the first carriage and another pallet provided on the second linear guide or on the second carriage is pushed into the space of the racking system that has become free.
Provision can be made in an optional embodiment that the storage and retrieval vehicle comprises a pallet receiver, in particular a width-adjustable pallet receiver as schematically represented as pallet receiver 28 in FIG. 2, for lifting pallets of different widths. Alternatively or additionally, the storage and retrieval vehicle (1, 11) comprises a fast-change system for coupling at least one further design of a pallet receiver. It is conceivable that the pallet receiver is configured such that the pallet receiver can be adjusted in width during the handling of workpieces on pallets, etc. so that pallets of different widths and thus rack bins of different widths can thus also be handled or serviced accordingly. This provides the advantage that a variation and an ideal adaptation to storage conditions can be implemented.
The fast-change system in this respect has a coupling receiver 27 for receiving further designs of a pallet receiver 28, in particular a fork for handling machines or Euro-pallets. It is conceivable to provide a predefined interface at the storage and retrieval vehicle by means of which an automated fork change can be performed. With the automated solution, a locking mechanism has to be provided at the changer system that is, for example, configured as a locking piston, a locking ring or as locking spheres. A fast-change system provides the advantage of achieving increased flexibility of the system with respect to the handling demands. The same base machine can be present in all the embodiments in this respect.
It is conceivable in an optional embodiment that the transported product transported or held by the linear guide at the outer region of a base body of the storage and retrieval vehicle can be held by the storage and retrieval vehicle directly at the base body or at a minimal spacing from the base body. It is advantageously possible due to the minimized spacing between the column or the base body or the storage and retrieval vehicle, on the one hand, and the transported products, on the other hand, to provide a storage and retrieval vehicle that in particular takes up little space within a pallet storage system in the loaded state.
In a further optional embodiment, provision can be made that the storage and retrieval vehicle is movable along the floor rail on a sliding carriage, represented as sliding carriage 22 in FIG. 1, and/or is movable in a horizontal plane and/or direction along the floor rail.
It is furthermore conceivable that an oil sump (also referred to herein as an oil tray), represented as oil tray 21 in FIG. 2, is arranged at the storage and retrieval vehicle, in particular pivotably and couplably beneath at least one of the carriages and/or that the oil tray is provided in a lower region of the storage and retrieval vehicle and/or that the oil tray is movable, deformable and/or insertable flexibly and/or relative to the storage and retrieval vehicle in at least on direction, in particular a horizontal direction.
It is advantageous with a corresponding oil tray that no oil protection apparatus such as oil-tight floor rails are required and simultaneously the oil supply or oil disposal of the storage and retrieval vehicle can be ensured.
The emptying of the oil sump can be implemented by means of an oil pump that is provided for this purpose and that pumps the oil out of the container or out of the oil sump.
A correspondingly deformable, movable or insertable oil sump can evade obstacles on the travel path of the storage and retrieval vehicle, whereby the storage and retrieval vehicle can be moved past obstacles closer to them. This is related to the fact that the oil sump in parts of the storage and retrieval vehicle can be its outermost contour and is therefore at particular risk from collision when obstacles or other objects are present in the proximity of the travel route of the storage and retrieval vehicle. The oil tray can be adjusted or deformed accordingly in this plane or approximately in this plane, as described above, and can hereby evade obstacles. The horizontal direction means the general direction of movement of the storage and retrieval vehicle which, however, does not have to be exactly horizontal.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the energy store is replaceable. The storage and retrieval vehicle can in particular be designed such that a discharged energy store can be replaced with a charged energy store. The replacement may take place without the storage and retrieval vehicle having to be mechanically released.
A charging of the energy store via an energy supply device of the storage and retrieval vehicle can be dispensed with by the replacement of the energy store in a possible embodiment.
Alternatively, the replaceability can be present in addition to the recharging capability of the energy store at the vehicle. The storage and retrieval vehicle may have a replacement station for a manual and/or automatic replacement of the energy store. The replacement station may enable access to the storage and retrieval vehicle and a manual replacement and/or has an automation device that removes the energy store from the storage and retrieval vehicle and replaces it with another energy store. The replacement station may have a charging apparatus for charging one or more energy stores.
The present disclosure is furthermore directed to a pallet storage system having at least one racking system, at least one storage and retrieval vehicle, and at least one floor rail for moving the storage and retrieval vehicle; wherein the storage and retrieval vehicle comprises at least one linear guide outwardly coupled via at least one vertical guide to a base body of the storage and retrieval vehicle; and wherein the base body is rotatably arranged about a vertical axis.
The pallet storage system or the storage system can be a fully automatic storage system that enables a modular design of the system by means of racking segments and floor rail segments and that simultaneously enables different loading possibilities such as in particular a loading at the front side of, for example, the racking elements and a direct machine loading of machines or machine tools arranged along the floor rails. A loading at the front side in this respect means a loading in the end regions of the floor rail. The outwardly disposed linear guide of the storage and retrieval vehicle can in this respect be moved at a vertically extending column or at the base body of the storage and retrieval vehicle tangentially to or along the outer contour of the column linearly to the loading and unloading of racking storage spaces or of machine tools. It is possible by the arrangement of the corresponding linear guide at the outer side of the storage and retrieval vehicle to guide pallets or transported products picked by the storage and retrieval vehicle very close to the vertical column, whereby a particularly small lateral extent of the storage and retrieval vehicle with gripped transported products results. The floor rail for moving the storage and retrieval vehicle can thereby be laid particularly close to the rack elements of the racking system and end-face regions of the floor rail or of the pallet storage system can be used for storing pallets or for processing workpieces by means of machine tools positionable there and operable by means of the storage and retrieval vehicle, whereby a particularly space-saving arrangement of the total pallet storage system is possible.
It is conceivable that the racking system is directly couplable to a subsurface by means of fastening elements. The subsurface can typically be a warehouse floor of the warehouse in which the pallet storage system is used. The subsurface itself does not have to form part of the subject of the present disclosure in this respect. The fastening elements can be configured as rails and/or consoles that can, for example, be screwed to the subsurface and on which a single element or a plurality of elements of the racking system are positionable and can, for example, be screwed thereto. It is conceivable to couple the elements of the racking system and the individual elements or modules of the floor rail to the subsurface by means of the same fastening elements. It is also conceivable that both at least one module of the racking system and at least one module of the floor rail can be coupled to the subsurface using a single fastening element.
Provision can be made in this respect that the at least one floor rail is composed of modules, in particular of the same design, that can be connected to one another and/or that the at least one racking system is composed of modules, in particular of the same design, that can be connected to one another. The floor rail of modular design or the racking system of modular design can thus be manufactured, transported, and assembled in a desired form in a particularly simple manner.
The floor rail can be arranged in parallel with the racking system or with the modules of the racking system, with machine tools and/or further modules of the racking system, for example, being arrangeable at the side of the floor rail disposed opposite the racking system and at the head ends or transverse sides of the floor rail. The floor rail enables the moving of the storage and retrieval vehicle, with it advantageously comprising individual segments or modules that are connectable to one another by means of connection elements. The size of the floor rails can hereby advantageously be matched to the restrictive truck size for transporting the elements, with the size of the floor rail assembled for the deployment simultaneously being able to be varied in dependence on the demands and on the circumstances so that a flexible length and thus size of the total system can be simply achieved. The modules of the floor rail are configured such that no additional arrangements or devices have to be provided thereat. No oil covers in particular have to be provided, whereby the floor rail can be manufactured less expensively overall. The principle of a modular design with predefined module dimensions can be used, with the individual floor rail segments or floor rail modules being able to be manufactured in predefined dimensions, for example between one meter and ten meters. The modules can comprise a rail section and a floor section, with the rail sections being coupled to the floor sections. Only the floor section of a module has to be connected to a subsurface and/or to a further module for the assembly or extension of a section of a floor rail provided in accordance with the invention. The rail sections arranged at the floor section or the corresponding rail section are then adapted and ready for moving a storage and retrieval vehicle. The modules can furthermore be configured with straight or curved rail sections, whereby corresponding straight or curved sections of the floor rail can be produced or established.
It is conceivable in a further optional embodiment that the region that can be reached by the storage and retrieval vehicle comprises both the longitudinal sides and the transverse sides of the floor rail, with parts of the racking system and/or other components to be reached by the storage and retrieval vehicle in particular being arranged at at least one transverse side of the floor rail.
An all-round arrangement of components of the pallet storage system around its floor rail is hereby possible, whereby a particularly space-saving pallet storage system can be produced. Components of the pallet storage system can be understood as parts of its racking system and/or as machine tools or loading stations or automation solutions that can be serviced by the storage and retrieval vehicle. The region reachable by the storage and retrieval vehicle is to be considered in this respect as any region to which the storage and retrieval vehicle can take pallets or from which it can collect pallets. The transverse side of the floor rail in the present case designates that region of a rail that corresponds to its end region or start region and in which in accordance with the prior art no loading stations, automation solutions or similar can be reached by the storage and retrieval vehicle.
It is furthermore conceivable in a further optional embodiment that a barrier is providable between a movement region of the storage and retrieval vehicle and further components of the pallet storage system such as in particular machine tools or other automation solutions for a reliable separation of the movement region of the storage and retrieval vehicle from the respective components of the pallet storage system and/or in that frontal access for operators is provided between the floor rail and at least one component of the pallet storage system.
The barrier can in this respect be designed not to allow access to the floor rail to persons and/or can conversely be designed to protect persons outside the floor rail from parts of the pallet storage system or from its contents. The barrier can, for example, comprise fence elements that are in particular movably stored and that can be moved as required between the floor rail and the corresponding component. In accordance with the invention, sufficient space can be provided between the floor rail and the respective component due to the sufficiently greatly extendable linear guide for the corresponding barrier and/or for the carrying out of, for example, maintenance work and/or assembly work at the component blocked by the rail. The frontal access can, for example, be used by operators for setting the corresponding machine tool or component and/or for carrying out maintenance work at the storage and retrieval vehicle.
Provision can furthermore be made in a further optional embodiment that the racking system of the pallet storage system comprises at least one driven rotationally symmetrical rack, schematically represented as rotationally symmetrical rack 26 in FIG. 4. The use of such a rack not only offers a simple extension possibility and an associated storage capacity extension, but likewise an increased flexibility of the system. It is conceivable to provide a combination of the racking system with a connection of the driven rotationally symmetrical rack since the number of the respective racks can be adapted without restriction to the given demands. In addition, a subsequent expansion of the storage volume is conceivable. The driven rotationally symmetrical rack to be used here has a transfer station to the storage and retrieval vehicle.
Further details and advantages of the present disclosure are explained with reference to the embodiments shown by way of example in the Figures.